Today we’ll make the short flight from Bangkok, Thailand, to Siem Reap, Cambodia. When I think, “Cambodia,” I think, “exotic.” And going in, “exotic” was just about all I knew about it. That was about to change.
We landed at Siem Reap airport, (pronounced “seem reep”), around mid-day. Stepping out of the plane, the air was hotter and more humid than Bangkok, but still tolerable. The weather in Bangkok had been a good pre-conditioner for us.
Welcome to Siem Reap
Siem Reap is small, (population of 140,000), and so is its airport. The main building reminded me of a big Thai or Polynesian bungalow. It doesn’t look like an airport at all. Inside, it seemed to be just one big, airy space. When we arrived, ours was the only plane with any activity, so as far as airports go, it was relatively quiet and peaceful inside.
There were four of us traveling together, so we arranged for a minivan-taxi to take us to our hotel. People at the airport spoke English, and everything was amazingly easy, considering that we were landing for the first time in a new country. Someone probably did, but I don’t remember anyone bothering to check our visas.
The minivan driver was a nice guy who spoke English very well – and a lot! He was quite talkative and entertaining. At first we thought he was a just a super-nice guy, which he was, but it soon became clear that his foremost intention was to get us to sign up with him to take a temple tour.
Siem Reap is on the international tourist map because it’s the closest town to ancient Khmer temples like Angkor Wat. Most tourists who come here come to see the temples. We were no exception, of course.
The Ride Into Town
The road from the airport reminded me of roads I’ve seen in Mexico. There wasn’t much in the way of traffic. Businesses and storefronts were set way back from the road, and everything in between was dry and dusty. The strange thing was that everyone drove so slowly. To me, it was like everything was in slow motion. (Especially after leaving Bangkok).
Most of the vehicles on the road were the Cambodian version of Thailand’s tuk-tuks. In Thailand, tuk-tuks are custom-built three-wheelers. Cambodian tuk-tuks consist of some kind of trailer attached to a motorcycle. They still call ‘em “tuk-tuks.” They’re just not quite as fancy as Thai tuk-tuks.
As we slowly ambled along, we noticed two occurrences where it appeared that a tuk-tuk and another vehicle had collided. We asked our driver if tuk-tuk travel here was safe. He thought for just a second and then said, “tuk-tuks are not safe.”
“Is it because of the way tuk-tuk drivers drive?” we asked.
“Many tuk-tuks here don’t have brakes.”
“Whaat?!” Then he explained to us that tuk-tuk travel here is not recommended for numerous reasons. “Not having brakes” was probably the best one, though.
He continued to work on us, albeit in a nice, not-too-in-your-face way, to get us to sign up for a temple tour with him. We explained that we had already signed up for a tour, but apparently he wasn’t buying that old line. Of course, we really had already signed up for a temple tour, but that seemed to have no effect on the conversation.
Finally we said, “OK, do you have a business card you can give us? We already have a tour booked, but we’ll take your card, just in case.”
He handed us his card, and with the most anguished of pleas, cried out, “You take my card, but you don’t take meeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”
Oh yeah. This guy was good!
From Dusty Road to Tropical Paradise
As we came into Siem Reap from the airport, the scenery changed from dusty road to tropical paradise. Everything was green and beautiful. I never thought of Cambodia as being “tropical,” but that’s how it looked.
Activity on the road picked up now. Motor-scooters, mini-trucks, and motorcycle-driven tuk-tuks were everywhere, although everyone still mosied along at an easy-going pace. No one here seemed to be in the slightest hurry to get anywhere. It was as if time had slowed down.
We drove past the well-manicured grounds where the Cambodian Royal Residence is located. That’s where the king stays when he’s in town. Yes, Cambodia has a king. You didn’t know that Cambodia has a king? Me neither. We have a lot to learn, eh?
Apparently we had come to the nice part of town. Or to be more precise, the “resort and spa” part of town. Quite a few large buildings in this area had “resort and spa” as part of their name. Our hotel did them one better: it was a “golf and spa resort.”
OK. We splurged a little on our Siem Reap accommodations. We didn’t know how much “splurge” we were talking about until we arrived. Here’s how it went…
Our “taxi” driver turned off the road into a tropical paradise. He followed the curved driveway around to the hotel entrance, where 5 or 6 uniformed attendants waited to take care of our every need.
A beautiful young lady welcomed us and confirmed our names. “Oh yes,” she said. “We’ve been expecting you. Please come in and sit down.”
We were asking about our luggage, checking in, and that kind of stuff. She just said, “Just relax here. Everything is being taken care of. Please take a cool wash cloth. What can I bring you to drink?” I turned around as another young lady used silver tongs to offer me a cool wash cloth that was rolled up like an egg roll.
And just like our hostess had said, check-in and everything else was magically taken care of while we lounged in the hotel’s stunning lobby. When I say “stunning,” I mean stunning in the most subtle and understated Cambodian style. (Here’s the hotel).
It had been an easy travel day to get from Bangkok to Siem Reap. We have no plans for the rest of today. (Neat!) Tomorrow, we’ll tour the famous Angkor temples, but, as our poor taxi driver cried, “not with Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!”
To be continued…
